During operation of an internal combustion engine, oil may be mixed with blow-by gases (e.g., gases that have escaped from one or more cylinders to the crankcase) to create a blow-by mixture in the crankcase. For efficiency concerns, as well as emission concerns, it may desirable to remove blow-by from the crankcase and to use a coalescer to separate the blow-by mixture into gaseous and oil components.
Past attempts to utilize coalescers to separate oil from gases of a blow-by mixture included the mounting of one or more coalescers at the rear end of an engine (e.g., toward an alternator) to vent separated gases to a downstream portion of an after treatment system (ATS). A coalescer boost air supply was provided from an exhaust system in certain previous attempts to use coalescers.
However, certain engine system may not include an ATS for venting of the separated gases. Further, the routing of hoses and piping for conventional coalescer systems, for example, on locomotives may be quite lengthy and/or complex, resulting in increased difficulty for installation and/or maintenance. Further still, the coalescers of conventional system may have locations resulting in difficult installation, difficult access, and/or inconvenient maintenance. Yet further still, conventional approaches may result in relatively poor emission levels, relatively expensive cost, relatively poor reliability, and/or relatively increased consumption of oil.